Hoover, Spain Park Students Win National Merit Scholarships

HOOVER, AL — A Spain Park High School students and a Hoover High School student were two of just 16 students in Alabama to be awarded a National Merit Scholarship in the first rounds of awards announced Wednesday.

The winners include approximately 1,000 high-school seniors from across the U.S. According to a press release from the National Merit Scholarship Program, the corporate scholarships are financed by about 140 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations.

Ria R. Shah of Hoover High School and Wyatt W. Williams of Spain Park High School were awarded their scholarships through Southern Company.

The awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study and students get a stipend that’s anywhere between $1,000 - $10,000 each year. Some of the awards include a single payment between $2,500-$5,000.

More than 1.5 million students applied for the highly competitive scholarship and the program says that around 7,500 students will go on to win scholarships in 2021 that total $30 million. Winners of the $2,500 scholarships and the college-sponsored scholarships will be announced later this year.

A total of 16,000 students were selected as finalists for the scholarships and the final winners are candidates “judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.